Suddenly

Organ transplant.

No rejection.

"Does this count as an [organ transplant] surgery?"

Zhou Zhi sensed his own body. Compared to before, the feeling of insects gnawing at him had eased considerably, replaced by an odd sensation in his nasal cavity.

His throat felt faintly uncomfortable. Zhou Zhi coughed twice, but the strange sensation didn't fade.

"[Influenza]... symptoms of an upper respiratory infection."

Whether he was human wasn't something Zhou Zhi cared about. What concerned him was his current physical condition.

According to the mysterious message, his body could survive for about three more days. Clearly, this was the result of having the [inferior lung] transplanted.

As for pathogenization, Zhou Zhi's pupils shifted slightly.

Did it refer to the various symptoms of [influenza] appearing in the body?

His Pathogenization Index was currently a little over twenty percent, and he felt mildly uncomfortable.

What would happen when it reached one hundred percent?

Zhou Zhi glanced over the corpses whose lungs had been removed.

He said nothing more.

Instead, he took the [key] and the [Worn Scalpel] in hand.

The key was a necessity, but Zhou Zhi also planned to take this oddly shaped so-called scalpel with him.

"When the organ was removed just now, the scalpel displayed some strange power. I couldn't pin it down, but it was definitely there."

An impossible fusion, in a sealed space strewn with corpses.

Zhou Zhi carefully processed the information he had gathered and confirmed that there was nothing else of value in the room.

Then he inserted the key into the lock.

He turned it slightly.

The lock clicked.

Creak—

The hinges turned, and the door opened.

Ahead lay a passageway and staircase that looked extremely dark, leading upward.

"This isn't Northern First Hospital."

Unlike the mortuary, the walls were made of something resembling cement. They looked rough, like a wrinkled human face.

The smell of disinfectant in the air had grown stronger, even more pungent than it had been in the mortuary.

After coughing twice, Zhou Zhi looked toward the top of the stairs.

The man climbed steadily, one step at a time.

Each step took exactly the same amount of time.

At the top of the stairs, directly overhead, was a square hatch.

He pressed a finger against it. There was some resistance, but it wasn't sealed shut; something heavy was resting on top.

Zhou Zhi didn't push it open right away. Instead, he tilted his head and listened.

From outside came a faint commotion.

There were men and women, apparently arguing.

They weren't speaking Northern Federation language, but Zhou Zhi could understand them.

"If we keep dragging these deadweights around with us—"

"W-We'll all die."

"We might as well divide up their supplies right here."

A man's voice rang out amid the din. It sounded hostile, almost furious.

"Mm. Not the Northern Federation."

Zhou Zhi judged from the accent and cadence.

"The supplies here were limited to begin with, and now we have to feed these sickly weaklings too. Who knows when their Pestilence will break out?"

"Then we'll all die!"

The man's furious roar was met by several voices in agreement.

A woman spoke up. "There'll be a way. The [Epidemic War Corps] will be here soon. Once the Plague Exterminators arrive, we can—"

"We can? We can what?"

The man's voice was icy. "Xia Yu, come collect our corpses?"

"The whole of Blue Stone Town has been a [Pestilence Zone] for a week. Where are the Plague Exterminators?"

"Those high-and-mighty Plague Exterminator lords don't give a damn about ordinary people like us. They only care about themselves."

"Only we can save ourselves."

"Staying in this kind of [Marginalized Tattered Clinic] is just waiting to die. We'll end up like [Bai Xiu], dead in the basement!"

A voice came from the other side. "Lei Heng, what did you say?!"

"Doctor Bai Xiu saved you all!"

"He gave you medicine!"

A mocking voice rang out.

"Doctor? Only [Plague Exterminators] deserve to be called doctors—not useless trash who piss themselves in fear when faced with Pestilence."

The argument flared up again. Zhou Zhi braced his right hand against the hatch above him.

He shoved hard.

A tremendous force surged out, sending the heavy objects piled over the basement hatch flying aside.

The room fell silent.

Warm light hung over a two-story room.

Oddly shaped wooden cabinets lined both sides. They must once have been arranged neatly, but now someone had rummaged through them, leaving everything in disarray.

Zhou Zhi narrowed his eyes and took in the scene before him.

There were about twenty people in the room.

They were split evenly between the two sides, clearly divided under the circumstances.

Now, every eye was fixed on Zhou Zhi.

Zhou Zhi didn't look toward either side. Instead, his gaze fell on a full-length mirror nearby.

The mirror reflected the man's appearance.

"Sixteen to eighteen years old."

"Fair skin. The sores on his body seem to have disappeared after the [Lung Transplant]."

"Thin, but not malnourished."

Zhou Zhi's gaze remained steady.

"Quite handsome... about as handsome as I used to be."

"But this doesn't seem to be me."

As Zhou Zhi continued admiring his own stunning beauty, Lei Heng's voice suddenly exploded.

"He's wearing a corpse's clothes!"

"A-A-A corpse just got up!!!"

"It's [Pestilence]!"

"Pestilence Transformation!!"

The sinister look on Lei Heng's face changed completely.

A moment ago, he had been furious; now, terror seeped beneath his skin.

His entire body began to tremble.

"Oh."

Zhou Zhi raised a hand and gave a gentle wave.

"I'm human. I'm human, you know."

[Malicious Human].

[Pathogenization Index: 7%].

[Source of Pathogenization: Influenza].

[Lust for women and fear of unknown Pestilence fill his mind].

[He's about to launch a pitiful attack].

As Zhou Zhi finished speaking, Lei Heng suddenly charged at him.

"I'll kill you!"

"I'll kill you!"

The sinister man moved like a hyena, drawing a small dagger from his waist in an instant.

"Look out!"

A girl cried out.

The next second,

Zhou Zhi's hand closed around Lei Heng's left hand.

A powerful force struck, like a steel clamp, and pressed down slightly.

The sinister man's left hand twisted at once.

Meanwhile, Zhou Zhi spun the [scalpel] in his right hand and lightly sliced open the man's skin.

Clang.

The dagger fell to the floor.

Zhou Zhi met Lei Heng's gaze, calm and composed.

Blood streamed from the man's palm all the way to his elbow.

"That's not how you use a knife."

Amid a piercing scream, Zhou Zhi gave a gentle shove. Lei Heng stumbled and fell to his knees.

His pupils were filled with terror, and his mouth gaped as he gasped for breath.

Several companions rushed to help him up.

Zhou Zhi paid the man no mind and walked straight ahead.

He looked around.

This was...

A [Clinic].

Someone's Clinic.

It wasn't very large. In fact, it seemed to have only one—

"That scalpel... belonged to Mr. Bai Xiu..."

A girl's voice, as clear as an oriole's, rang beside Zhou Zhi.

Zhou Zhi turned around.

The girl wore a pale yellow blouse.

Her defining feature was—

She was far too beautiful.

Her bright eyes were like warm spring sunshine.

Her expression shifted gently, her brows knitting with tenderness.

[A girl who is excessively beautiful].

[Her golden proportions combined nearly every trait the opposite sex could desire].

[The kind of person who should never appear in your life].

[In this world, perfection is itself a pathology].

[Pathogenization Index: 5.4%].

[Source of Pathogenization: ???].